| ATARAXIA's interesting combination of Classical, Medieval
Choral & mood music has appealed to me from the moment I first heard
it. This 11 track album, the first they released as a CD is a slow-grower,
lacking the immediacy of the previous cassette only releases. But the
sound, presented here more for it's strident strength & energy than
it's often beautific images, slowly invades the mind, seducing the listener
with forceful songs which combine NICO's flat strength with martial
music which could come from DEATH IN JUNE or TEST DEPT circa "Gododdin".
Where many of their previous works give the impressions of shifting
diaphanous walls of time, religious obsession, darkly mysterious happenings,
and beauty - always beauty - this album sounds almost like protest music,
an often clever Folk music backing of acoustic guitars and simple hammered
sounds, mixed with sweeping keyboard strings driven often by the fast
martial drumming. But it's always, ALWAYS those layers of voice which
make them so distinctly ATARAXIA. ATARAXIA are always worth seeking
out for those gorgeous waves of female voice which wash over the listener
in wraith-like waves, like ghostly Nuns plain chanting through time
& dimension. I'm not totally convinced they chose their material
well enough to show the world how highly they should be regarded. But
I still have Faith. For this album ATARAXIA consisted of FRANCESCA NICOLI
- voice, lyrics, drum machine; VITTORIO VANDELLI - synth guitars, classical
guitars, drum machine; GIOVANNI PAGLIARI - keyboards, piano. |